Let's Keep it in the Family
by Voyager Tip
Summary: Milt's sister-in-law Dee Dee has a son, whose motives are questionable.
1. Dee Dee & Larry

Dee Dee and Larry

Dee Dee put down her glass of wine and smiled at her son. "I think Milt's changed, well, a little. He seemed calmer. Happier than I've seen him in a long time."

"And you think it's because of this McCormick character?" Larry said in astonishment.

"Well, it's hard to say. But it was easy to see that he likes him. When I mentioned that he seemed nice, Milt said, "he's okay" in that tough voice of his. And you know he's never said anything that positive about... well, just about anybody since Nancy died. Nothing's ever seemed to be good enough since then."

"I just can't picture Uncle Milt being taken in by some ex con," Larry told her shaking his head.

"I didn't get the impression Mark was trying to fool him. As a matter of fact, he seemed rather sweet. Well, if my opinion is worth anything, I'd say Milt likes him. They've captured a lot of criminals together over the past year and Milt is very proud of that. Anyway, what did you want to ask me?"

Larry put his glass down and looked seriously at his mother. "I wanted to ask for another loan. Before you say anything, it'll just be short term, three months, just until the new store gets up and running."

Dee Dee frowned as she answered him, "I'm not sure I can do that Larry."

"I've been making payments on the other one every month, like clockwork, I've never missed a payment, you know that."

"I know, and it's not because I don't want to loan you the money, but I don't really have all that much available at the moment. In order to get it, I'd have to cash in one of my CDs and I'd take a penalty."

"You can add the penalty to what I'll owe you mom," the voice reached a higher pitch.

Dee Dee squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. Larry was her only son. Since her husband had died, he'd become closer to her than they had ever been. She didn't want to alienate him, nor did she want to be taken advantage of.

"All right, we can go to the bank tomorrow and I'll cash in the CD. It'll all be yours anyway after I'm gone."

"And Uncle Milt's too," Larry whispered.

"Now Larry, you know Milton has never said that you were his heir. I don't think he's ever said anything about who is named in his will at all. For all we know, he's planning on leaving all his money to the Police Benevolent Fund, or the Legal Aid Society, or California Bar, maybe he'd even leave some to Mark, we have no idea."

Larry froze. "He wouldn't give an ex con part of his estate mom, would he? He's spent his life fighting against law breakers."

"It doesn't concern you Larry, it never did. Please stop dwelling on it, and don't drop any more hints about it to Milton, every time you see him you say something related to his will. It's embarrassing!" Dee Dee chastised him.

Larry sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. Maybe it was time to pay his Uncle Milt a visit. After all, it had been several years since he'd seen him. It wouldn't hurt to find out what was going on with this ex con that everyone seemed to like.


	2. Larry Comes to Visit

H&M Larry Comes to Visit

"What's his name again judge?" Mark asked as he started washing the dishes. He knew the name, but the opportunity to annoy the judge was one he couldn't resist.

"It's Larry hotshot, and I don't see how you can remember all the different stories we make up to catch the bad guys when you can't remember one simple name," Milt answered in annoyance.

"There's incentive with those stories judge."

"What incentive?"

"If I mess up with a detail in front of one of your 'technicalities', they might kill me. With what's his name, he's only your nephew. What could he do to me? Besides, I don't know why you're stressing out about this visit, all your relatives love me."

"Well, you haven't met Larry yet, and I'm not stressed out about his visit, I'm stressed out about what he'll tell his mother when he gets back home. You know how she is."

"Dee Dee isn't so bad."

"You were glad to see her go though, am I right?"

Mark shrugged "I guess, but how come you never told me she had a son?"

"I can't tell you everything about myself you know."

"Wait a minute Hardcase, I know that look, what's going on?"

"Nothing," he paused and then sighed, "you know how you don't like Sandy because he seems too perfect?"

McCormick paused, "Yeah... so what's wrong with this one?"

"He thinks he's better than everybody else. Take it from me, we'll be glad to see him go too."

"Great," Mark moaned. "What's he gonna think about an ex con then?"

The doorbell interrupted them and Milt quickly removed his apron and turned to answer it. "Just behave, okay?" he whispered back over his shoulder as he left.

Mark laughed. "Yeah, right judge," he said under his breath as he turned off the water and pulled a towel off the rack to dry with.

H&M

"Uncle Milt!" Larry exclaimed as he pulled him into a rough hug and clapped him on the back. He reminded Milt of his brother Gerald, though they were not related, but he had the same build and coloring.

Milt moved away from the embrace awkwardly and as quickly as he could. "Hi Larry, good to see ya. How was your trip?"

"Fine thanks," the man said glancing around. "The place hasn't changed."

As Mark approached from the kitchen, Milt introduced him, "this is Mark McCormick."

Mark put out his hand and Larry hesitated before he reached out to shake it. His expression was one of distaste. "This is one thing that's different."

"Yeah, McCormick wasn't here during your last visit."

"It was J.J. Beale then, wasn't it?"

Milt had been turning toward the den, but he stopped and turned back at Larry. "He was only here for one day, how could you remember his name?"

"I care about you Uncle Milt, I'm always interested in what's going on with you. And you were lucky Beale didn't kill you before he took off. That's something that I won't forget, ya know?"

Milt nodded uncertainly, "uh huh. Come on into the den and let's have a talk."

Mark exhaled, it looked like he was off the hook. "I'll just leave you two to visit and get back to my chores," he said and headed back to the kitchen. He didn't like the way Larry had looked at him and wasn't interested in being around him any longer than necessary. He'd seen something like distrust in his eyes; maybe it was even something closer to loathing. He'd gotten a similar look many times before from some of the judges friends, though nothing with this much intensity. He didn't like the way it made him feel. He would willingly do any chores available in order to avoid Larry; and that would have the bonus of making the judge happy.

H&M

They settled down in two chairs in the den.

"So what mom said was true then? You let that ex con have the run of the house?" Larry began in a surprised tone.

"He's only doing the dishes, and you can call him Mark," Milt answered.

"The silver's out there isn't it? Have you counted it lately?"

"I don't have to worry about McCormick, so stop thinking that."

"Didn't you learn anything from what happened with Beale?"

Milt's kept his anger under control as he spoke. "I'm very capable of learning from my own mistakes without your help Larry." He paused and took a long breath, "now, why don't you tell me about what's going on with you. You opened that sporting goods store up in Sacramento, how's that going?"

Larry hesitated and changed topics. He had gone too far, and pushing wouldn't accomplish his goal, so he began to explain his business venture to Milt.


	3. True Colors

H&M True Colors

"I don't think he likes me," Mark confided as he set the table.

"Nah, he thinks you're fine. Don't worry about it." Hardcastle answered. "It's a nice evening, let's eat on the terrace."

McCormick nodded and set about bringing the food outside.

During the meal, Mark listened to the conversation between the judge and Larry. It was mostly about sports, and Larry hadn't seemed half bad. Mark had only joined in when Milt asked him a specific question, but otherwise he felt the meal with Larry had gone well. Maybe he'd be able to win him over after all. Everyone else in the family had seemed to like him, he didn't see any reason why Larry shouldn't like him too. He had always been able to get along with people, it was one of his best qualities.

Finally Hardcastle glanced at his watch, "I'll be inside, I want to catch the news."

Larry watched him leave, and when he was out of earshot, he turned to Mark. "So, Uncle Milt told my mom he keeps you on a short leash, how does it feel to be treated like a dog?"

Mark stared at him for a moment before speaking. All possibility of a positive relationship fell away. "What do you want Larry?"

Larry smiled, "I just want to understand how you can put up with the way you're treated."

"It may surprise you to know that I think I'm treated pretty well."

"You think you're friends with Uncle Milt, don't you?"

For an instant, Mark felt his face tense up. He tried to cover it up by changing the tone of his voice to sound like he didn't care. "Why do you care?"

Larry felt a thrill. He'd nailed it. McCormick did think they were friends. "I don't care. I'm only here for the entertainment. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen Milt throw one of his projects back into prison. It happens a lot Mark. I try to come down when I can to watch the show."

Mark's jaw dropped. Sarah had told him on his first night that there had been other ex cons. In fact, she had given him the impression there had been a lot of them over a 10 year period. Why hadn't he ever asked the judge about those others? He knew the reason, because he didn't want to admit he could get sent back too.

Larry cut into his thoughts. "They all thought he was their friend too. Course I could never figure out how they thought that when they all messed up so badly. You know what he told my mom when she was here? She said you seemed nice, and Uncle Milt told her you were 'okay'. Real friendly," he added sarcastically.

Mark stared at him intently. "I can't believe you're spending all this time talking to me because you want to understand me. You don't care about me. So what do you really want?"

Larry smiled, "I'm just here for a visit Mark. But, just so you know, you're on thin ice and I could arrange to have you back in prison," he snapped his fingers, "like that. So, watch your step."


	4. Contemplation

H&M Contemplation

Mark sat on the couch in the Gatehouse and stared at the wall. His stomach was upset and he was replaying the conversation with Larry over and over in his mind. Could he really be on thin ice with Hardcastle? He didn't think so, things had seemed fine before Larry had arrived. Of course there was last week when he'd lost all the judge's files, not to mention his furniture. And the week before that, the judge had gone out to his shooting range and one weed had grown up so high that it blocked the target. Mark could have sworn that it grew a foot in one night. But Hardcastle had really laid into him for neglecting his chores.

Then the week before that, the judge had gone to Atlantic City with him, even paid for the airfare, so he could find his useless old man. There's no way the judge would think that was a wise investment of his time or his money. Mark's father didn't even want him, why would Hardcastle want to keep him around? He'd probably decided to end the agreement back then, but just hadn't gotten around to telling Mark yet.

The more he thought about it, there were lots of reasons the judge should want to get rid of him. A few weeks before Atlantic City, they'd been in Clarence, and McCormick had hit on the daughter of a friend when she was mourning her father. The judge had been very upset about that too. If he was honest with himself, it seemed there were more than enough reasons for him to be on thin ice with Hardcastle.

Could the old donkey be thinking about sending him back to prison after all they'd been through? It was true that sometimes it was hard to tell what was going on in the old guy's mind, especially since he didn't like talking about his feelings. He could easily be feeling badly about the partnership and not say anything; that would be just like him. In that case, Mark had better try very hard to repair the damage. As far as Larry was concerned, if he thought he was going to see a show, where the judge sent Mark back to prison, he was wrong, because Mark would do anything to keep that from happening.


	5. Two Plans

H&M Two Plans

Milt Hardcastle glanced out his bedroom window at 6:30 am. What he saw stopped him cold. He'd been headed out to the basketball court, hoping he could roust McCormick out of bed for one of their early morning games. He needed the normalcy of that, after spending the evening talking to Larry. What he saw was Mark, already working in the yard. He shook his head in surprise and continued to watch the young man as he brought a wheelbarrow full of mulch from the pile in the side yard, and started to spread it around the flower bed. Judging by the way his t-shirt was stuck to his body, he'd been working for a while.

He headed outside, a bit disappointed about missing the basketball game, but had to admit that early morning was the best time for the gardening job. The heat wave they'd been having lately had made any outdoor activity very uncomfortable. Today was forecast to be a scorcher. The temperature was supposed to be over 100 degrees which made it downright dangerous to work during the day. Even now, as Milt stepped outside, he could feel the discomfort.

He walked to where Mark was working. "Hey McCormick!" he called out as he approached.

Mark straightened up. His T-shirt was saturated with sweat and he was breathing hard. "Yeah?"

"It's nice to see you being productive kiddo," Hardcastle commented, "you've got a lot done. When did you start?"

"4:30"

Milt nodded, impressed by the kid's initiative, "well, it looks good. Maybe you should call it quits and have some breakfast."

"I'll just finish this bed and be in, it won't be too much longer," Mark answered and returned to his work.

Milt walked away shaking his head. McCormick always managed to surprise him. You never knew what was next, and he realized that was what kept him feeling so young. He'd never known McCormick to get up at 4:30 in the morning in all the time he'd been here.

A few minutes later, McCormick entered the kitchen and began to wash up. Milt put the plates on the table as Larry sat down.

"I thought Mark did the cooking?" Larry asked.

"We take turns," Milt explained.

They ate in silence, Mark feeling Larry's eyes on him just about every minute. He finished quickly and took his dishes to the sink. "I'll take a look at the hot water heater, it's cooler in the basement, a good day to work down there," he said as he left. He headed downstairs, glad to be away from Larry's eyes.

"You let him eat with you too? Do you really think that's a good idea Uncle Milt?"

"Course it is, neither of us want to eat alone, besides, half the time he cooks." Milt paused, wanting to divert the conversation. "I thought you wanted to go into town and try to find that conch for your mother?"

"Yeah, I'd like to do that, it'll make a nice birthday present for her."

"I'll go up and get ready, we can leave in a few minutes."

After Milt was upstairs, Larry hurried into the den. He smiled at the stack of envelopes lined up neatly on the desk. His Uncle Milt was a man of steady habits. He'd always set envelopes out with the money budgeted for monthly bills on the first of the month. He picked up the envelope on the top of the stack and looked at its contents. He removed three $50 bills and put the envelope back and spread the pile out over the desktop, then hurried toward the front door and glanced up the stairs. Then he opened the basement door and headed down.

"Hey Mark?" he called out into the large area.

"Yeah," McCormick's answer came from a corner of the room.

Larry walked over and took the bills out of his pocket. "We'll be out all day, and Uncle Milt asked me to give you this, in case you need to buy any parts."

Mark stood up and took the bills, then glanced back at Larry, "this is $150, I doubt any parts will cost this much."

Larry shrugged, "I don't know, he just said to give it to you."

"Okay, have a good time," Mark answered and put the money into his wallet.


	6. Framed

H&M Framed

Milt and Larry returned late in the afternoon.

"Hey McCormick!" Hardcastle called out as they entered the house. He walked out to the kitchen, and opened the back door to scan the yard. Larry walked into the den as Mark came up from the basement.

"Uncle Milt?" Larry's voice called out loudly, and the judge returned to the hall.

"Did ya have a nice day Judge?" Mark asked.

"Uncle Milt, Mark was just going through the envelopes on your desk," Larry said loudly.

All three of them froze where they stood in the hall.

"What are you talking about?" Mark said in astonishment as he turned to confront his accuser.

"I saw him holding an envelope from your desk just now," Larry repeated.

"What's going on here?" Hardcastle said as his gaze moved from Larry to Mark.

H&M

They had moved into the den and Milt had examined the envelopes on his desk.

"Something's missing, isn't it Uncle Milt?" Larry asked.

"Yeah. $150 is missing."

Mark's heart pounded and he fought for a breath as realization hit. "Larry, why would you do this to me?" he accused their guest.

"It's always someone else's fault, isn't it Mark?" Larry said. "Uncle Milt's told me a million times that that's what criminals say."

"This time it is, and you're lying!" Mark yelled.

"Stop," Hardcastle said loudly and held his hand up in front of Mark's face. "You'll get your turn," he said to the ex con. Then he turned to Larry, "do you have anything more to say?"

Larry put on his best shocked expression, "well, he's probably got $150 in his wallet. Maybe we should check?"

Hardcastle looked at McCormick and motioned with his head toward the desk. The meaning was obvious and McCormick knew he was being asked to empty his pockets.

"Judge, Larry said you left this money for…"

Milt put up his hand again "you'll get your chance to talk, just do it."

Mark's shoulders sagged and he produced the wallet along with the contents of his pocket, 3 screws and a scrap of paper.

Milt picked up the wallet, opened it, and removed several bills. Three were $50s, a ten, a five and two singles."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Larry. "I knew it!"

"Judge…" Mark began.

"Will you shut up!" Hardcastle yelled at Mark. He looked from Larry to Mark and back again.

"You knew what?" Hardcastle asked Larry.

"That he stole the money, what else?"

"This doesn't prove he stole the money Larry?"

"Uncle Milt, I know you don't want to believe it's true, but look at the evidence in your hand!"

"You're awfully quick to pass judgment and find him guilty."

"I saw him in here and he has the money, look at the evidence! You know about evidence."

"I don't care what evidence you have," Hardcastle's voice was icy.

"How can you not care?"

"Because I know McCormick, and I know he wouldn't do this."

Mark allowed himself to breath and felt a little hope slip into the pit of his stomach.

"You can't be serious!"

"I also know that evidence can be tainted, faked, or even planted," he said is a low voice full of malice as his eyes locked with Larry's.

Mark suddenly felt the need to talk to the judge. If he could just explain, he thought Hardcastle might just believe him.

"Judge I can…"

"I said shut up McCormick, what don't you understand about that?" Hardcastle yelled and Mark clammed up again.

"How much evidence would you need then Uncle Milt? This is what there is, I caught him in the act!"

"You can't destroy a man's reputation on a whim Larry."

"He's an ex con for god sakes, this'll probably help his reputation inside prison!"

"There's no amount of evidence that would make me believe McCormick is stealing from me."

"How can you say that! Maybe you haven't caught him before, or maybe he hasn't before now, this could be the first time!"

Milt shook his head. "Never happen."

"You're a fool then!" Larry exclaimed, then stopped abruptly. He knew he had definitely gone too far this time.

"A fool, eh?" Milt said evenly. How about I shed a little light on this situation and you can tell me if I come close to the truth," he growled.

Mark's heartbeat had slowed, and he suddenly felt dizzy as the adrenaline rush subsided. He heard a loud buzzing as he felt a hand tighten it's grip on his arm and force him to sit down in the recliner.

"You all right kiddo?" he heard Milt's worried voice as the buzzing subsided.

The kid had suddenly looked very pale and when he'd stepped sideways and almost lost his balance, Milt had reached for him and forced him to sit. He wasn't surprised by the reaction, given what was at stake.

Mark took a deep breath as the fog cleared and looked at the judge, who was kneeling beside him. "Yeah, thanks," he whispered, then before Hardcastle stood back up, he leaned close to his ear and whispered in a low voice, "I swear I didn't." He thought he saw a faint smile cross the judge's lips for a brief second.

Milt stood up, "now for a little light." He paused first, "from the time you figured I didn't have an obvious heir, you assumed that you would inherit this estate, didn't you Larry?" He didn't wait for a response. "I never gave you any reason to think that, but you've made little comments here and there. Over the years I noticed them. Am I right?"

"I never assumed that Uncle Milt. Who you leave the estate to is your decision."

"Damn right it is. But you still always kind of felt that it should go to you. You're my only nephew. So, your mother comes down here for a visit and tells you about McCormick and how long he's been here and how he helps me with my cases, and we're acting like friends, and all of a sudden, you think I might be thinking about giving him a piece of the action. So, you came down here to prove to me that he was no good. How am I doin?"

"None of that's true! I wouldn't do that Uncle Milt!"

"Well, I think you would. Dee Dee told me you'd had some financial setbacks." Milt shrugged, "men have done a lot worse for a lot less."

"He's the one with the $150 in his wallet, why aren't we talking about that anymore? How did that money get there, huh?" He said this as he was motioning to McCormick, who knew enough to keep his mouth shut this time. "He's not denying it is he!"

"Listen to me Larry, because I want to make one thing very clear. You are not my heir. You aren't in my will at all. Do you understand?"

In the silence that followed, Mark could have sworn everyone could hear his heart beating.

"I understand," Larry said quietly. "I think it's time for me to go."

"I agree," Milt answered and Larry was diving down the driveway fifteen minutes later.


	7. A Clearer Picture

H&M A Clearer Picture

Mark sat in the chair in the den until Larry left and Hardcastle walked back behind his desk.

"Judge, I would never steal from you, you have to believe that," he blurted out as he stood up to face the judge.

"I know kiddo," Hardcastle said kindly, but then his voice raised in pitch until he was yelling, "but why couldn't you be quiet when I told you to shut up!"

"I wanted to defend myself!" Mark yelled back angrily.

"I was trying to get him to tie his own noose and you kept jumping into the conversation!"

This time Mark answered softly, "I just couldn't let you think I did that."

"I knew you didn't do it!" Milt snapped at him.

"But how?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Hardcastle asked as he stared at the kid.

"Of course not."

"Look, you've been here for over a year, then he shows up and within two days, you're volunteering to do extra chores, and then he conveniently sees you taking some money? Sorry, but that just doesn't fly. First of all, the only thing you'll steal is something with wheels and fenders. And second, you wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone, especially me. Not to mention that for the last 10 years, practically every time I've seen Larry, he's tried to steer the conversation toward my will. So, I put it all together and came up with my own conclusion."

"He said he could get me thrown back into prison, said it would be easy. I was really nervous."

"I could tell," Milt chuckled, "especially when you almost ended up on the floor."

Mark smiled crookedly, "yeah."

"Why'd you start spreading the mulch at 4:30 this morning?"

"Larry said I was on thin ice with you and that he was here to watch you send me back to prison."

"You believed him? And what does that have to do with mulch?"

"He said he'd watched you send back the others, and, uh… well I just thought it couldn't hurt if I worked extra hard."

"Why in the world would you believe him, I thought things have been good between us!"

"They have, but, well, not last week, when I lost your files, and furniture, and that big weed blocked your target, and well, I thought of a lot of other times when I screwed up too."

Silence stretched out between them.

Milt finally laughed and shook his head, "yeah, you do manage to screw up," he said. "And I do seem to yell at you a lot, okay, I can see why you might believe that."

They sat in companionable silence for a few more moments.

"How's the water heater?"

Mark smiled, "It needs a timer, I'll have to get one tomorrow."

Milt reached out to the $150 sitting beside Mark's wallet. He handed the kid a $50. Bring back the receipt kiddo."

Mark gathered the contents of his wallet and took the money from the judge. "How can you be so sure I wouldn't steel from you? I'm a pretty tough guy ya know, an ex con."

Hardcastle shook his head and half smiled. "I'm a judge McCormick. I know what you are. Now, get outta here and let me get back to these bills."

Mark stood up and headed for the door, a warm feeling spreading through him. It seemed impossible, but Hardcastle had just given him the biggest compliment he could ever imagine. He'd said he was honest. Not only was he an ex-convict, and an ex-car thief, but he was also honest and trustworthy. And it had to be true, because Hardcastle thought it was true. And he was a judge after all.

The End


End file.
